(Note: This article contains speculation about the parentage of Daisy Ridley’s character Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While the movie didn’t really answer the question we’re discussing, it feels like a mild spoiler warning is appropriate here anyway.)
Poor Rey. Not only was she left behind on Jakku, literally counting down the days until someone would come back for her, she finished Star Wars: The Force Awakens still unsure about who her parents really are — thus leaving us guessing as well.
The betting favorite is Luke Skywalker as her father, something we’ll presumably learn in Star Wars: Episode VIII. Even if the writers choose to go in the direction they seem to be leading us and they don’t have a swerve of some sort in store, it still leaves a rather huge question to be answered: who is Rey’s mom?
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There’s absolutely zero info on that front given in The Force Awakens, mostly because it wouldn’t make sense to do so when Luke as her dad isn’t even a done deal yet. That hasn’t stopped plenty of hopeful fans from taking to social media and internet comments sections to declare and/or hope that Rey’s mom is someone Star Wars aficionados know from material that is no longer canon in the Disney Era.
That being the case, this is going to be difficult for some people to hear, but we might as well get it out of the way right now. Sorry folks, but there’s no way that Mara Jade is Rey’s mother.
Why am I so sure? There are several reasons, actually, the first being that the Star Wars expanded universe (now known as Star Wars Legends) didn’t contribute anything to The Force Awakens at all. Yes, some concepts were similar, like the post-Empire bad guys’ love for even grander superweapons, but nothing from a post-Return of the Jedi novel, comic or story of any sort made it into the movie intact. Why would J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson (writer of both episodes VII and IX) or anyone else start now?
Jade’s story would also simply be too vast to tell in the final two movies. An assassin for the Emperor who eventually becomes not only Luke’s wife and mother of his children but a Jedi as well? I’m not buying that as something you can or should fit into flashbacks, and while I suppose she could be the subject of one of the anthology films, I just don’t see that happening since it would have to be one in the works now in order to fit her into the storyline of the main saga films before they end.
Understand I’m not saying that I dislike the character, or that Rey’s mom couldn’t turn out to be someone like Mara — that is, a Force user in her own right, maybe someone Luke turned to the light. That would certainly help explain why Rey is so strong with the Force despite zero training.
Next: The Force Awakens -- Could Rey be Part of a Different Star Wars Family?
I’d just be willing to wager a sum higher than all of the bounties ever placed on Han Solo’s head that whoever Rey’s mother turns out to be, the word “Jade” won’t be uttered. If anyone out there would like to call me on that bet, I’ll have my boy Lobot send you the paperwork to make it official.